Fifth Column (Synopsis)
''(The following synopsis was done by: Patrick Danner. Below it was one done by: Adam Keith) '' Neo sapien e-frame construction crews are finishing work on Phaeton's bunker. Over the entranceway one carves, in the original Italian from Dante's Inferno, "LASCIATE OGNI SPERANZA VOI CH'ENTRATE" (Abandon all hope ye who enter here). Phaeton and Livia are watching this engraving, and Phaeton says that he will never leave his bunker again. A church bell ringing prompts Phaeton to launch into another tirade about how he will destroy Winfield and Marsh. "Not even a handful of dust will remain for the wind to blow away." The ExoFleet is in orbit of the Earth's moon. Admiral Winfield is giving a briefing on the assault of Earth. Behind him is a large physical map of the Earth with lights at various points, blinking on and off. He tells the story of the Spanish Civil War, and how Franco told his troops to march on Madrid in four columns. There would also be a fifth column, made up of his supporters in the city. Winfield says that Earth resistance will be their fifth column. He says the message to begin the attack has already been sent to the leader of Earth resistance. Indeed, in their camp outside Phaeton City (formerly Chicago), J.J. Grimley hands Sean Napier a fax. Napier looks it over, and Eve Hanley asks if it is their attack orders. He tells Tanaka to send the message to all the other resistance leaders, and goes outside so he can talk to Hanley in private. Tanaka nods to her, and she proceeds to join Napier outside. She asks him what their orders are, and he tells her that her e-frame group is part of the initial assault on Detroit. He also tells her that he'll be joining them. She asks why he won't stay to coordinate the worldwide attack, and he tells her that there's no need, since they will already have their assignments. Somewhat angrily he adds, "I'm not going to sit here twiddling my thumbs while others do the fighting." He walks back inside. Jinx and Voodoo approach Hanley and Jinx just says, more as a statement than a question, "So, it's finally come then." At a Neo-Tank factory in Detroit, which apparently did not get renamed after a conquering Neo, an alarm blares. A disheveled worker looks toward the cafeteria, and sees a padlock on the door. After wavering on his feet for a moment, he passes out. Two fellow Terran workers come to his aid, but the supervising Neo walks out of his office and gives orders to "Replace that labor unit." The unconscious worker is dragged away, and a guard shoves another Terran into place. A different worker, Cates, looks angrily at a Neo guard. Outside Hanley reports that the attack squad is in place, and Napier notices that it won't be much longer. Far above the Earth, the ExoFleet is beginning to emerge from the dark side of the moon. Winfield tells Simbacca that after the resistance begins their attacks, they will wait two hours to let the Neos commit their forces before attacking themselves. Simbacca awaits the moment, saying that the Pirate Clans have many scores to settle with the Neos. Marsh is also watching his watch, when Weston approaches him, asking permission to leave the ship. Marsh is not pleased since they will attack soon, but since she feels it is important he gives her an hour. She thanks him and goes on her way. Bronski is in the Mess Hall when Marsh walks in, and tells him that when he gets nervous, he eats. Bronski says he's worried about the people in the resistance, and asks Marsh if he thinks there will be many casualties. J.T. tells him its difficult to guess, and asks if there's anyone special he's concerned about. Wolf just tells him, "Yeah... somebody." Back on Earth, outside the Neo-Tank facility, we see that somebody, Eve Hanley, notify the forward e-frame units that they attack in one minute. Inside things are proceeding as normal until the wall behind some Neo guards is shot down, throwing many of them down from their walkway overlooking the assembly line. A different alarm rings this time, as most of the Terran workers scurry away. Hanley, Napier, and a few foot soldiers burst in a door. Napier tells her that she is in charge of the mission, and he's just "a joyriding politician." She proceeds to order the secondary units to attack. Neo soldiers come out of the factory's loading zone and are met with heavy fire. Two resistance soldiers are able to lead a Neo frame into a trap where Tanaka finishes the job with his own frame. Neo tanks begin pouring out of the factory and do serious harm to the resistance fighters. Hanley succeeds in destroying one that comes her way, but elsewhere Voodoo and Picasso, who both have e-frames, are in trouble. Meanwhile Hanley and Napier face off against at least four oncoming Neo tanks. At a Neo lord brood facility, Galba picks up an incoming message. Praetorius comes in and tells him that the Terrans are in open rebellion all over the world, and that it occurred simultaneously. Both realize this means an invasion. Praetorius also says that they have detected the ExoFleet on the far side of the moon. When Galba asks if he thinks the Terrans can win, Praetorius tells him that they won't win anything, because Phaeton has constructed a doomsday device and will destroy the entire planet rather than accept defeat. Galba gasps in shock. Meanwhile, Sydney is the sight of heavy fighting, with explosions and weapon exchanges all around. In the middle of it we see that Nick Tyree is still fighting, with only a hand blaster. The same sort of thing is going on in Paris. The fighting still goes on in Detroit as well, where Hanley and Napier bust down through a roof to engage Neo sapien troops, with some e-frames among them. One of those Neo pilots transmits the need for reinforcements. The request is denied by Livia, who says that with over a hundred facilities under attack, there are no troops to spare. The nameless Neo exclaims, "But we cannot hold them!" and she firmly states, "You will hold!" Phaeton bows his head and muses, "So, it has begun at last." In Detroit, the fighting still rages within the factory, though it appears as though the Neo troops are having some success in holding their ground. Napier uses his e-frame to ram into a Neo frame that has gone for the high ground, and the tumble through a wall. They fight in close quarters until Napier can get his blaster in front of him and shoots the Neo through another wall. A Neo guard shoots from behind at Napier, who quickly deals with him before having to respond to a Neo frame attacking from the other direction. Napier jumps on the frame, and they struggle until the Neo is successful in backing Napier up to a hole in the ground, which he falls through. The Neo pursues downward, and is about to move in for the kill when a Terran worker, Cates, attacks the Neo frame with a power drill. The Neo frame quickly goes down. Cates turns to some fellow workers who are in hiding and says, "Come on, it's time we got even." But the workers still hesitate, visibly frightened. "You can sit here and be scared, or you can help send those Neos back where they belong! What'll it be?!" Shouts of agreement can be heard, and a few pick up power tools. "We've been putting the Neos weapons together long enough. Let's start taking 'em apart!" And with that most of the workers burst forth, although at least one watches, still cowering. The Neo frames are hovering about six or seven feet above the ground, but that doesn't stop the workers, who leap on top while others pull them down. They proceed to attack and disable many of the Neo frames. One helps Napier out of his frame, who remarks, "Thanks. You guys do good work." A Neo lieutenant notices the workers and orders their destruction, but Jinx Madison shoots him first. Hanley apparently thinks Jinx is moving in for the kill since she reminds him the Neo is a prisoner and that they shouldn't stoop to their level. Meanwhile the remaining Neos are being rounded up and marched off. Napier approaches Cates and tells him that their mission was to disable the tanks before they could be shipped. He asks how many there are, and Cates walks him into a room where there are many rows and columns of tanks. Cates says, "If you want to count, you can start with these." Hanley remarks, "Woah, you've been busy." Napier asks what is the easiest way to disable them. Cates says that there is none, and names all the systems that have redundant backups. Napier asks if they require a cyberlink to be operated, and Cates tells him that typically yes, but there is an emergency override to operate them manually. They proceed to walk into the cafeteria, the lock having been broken, and Cates says that they've been working double shifts on starvation rations. Napier says that he must also be hungry, and Cates tells him he'll eat when the last of the Neos is gone. Napier steps up onto the long table where the workers are eating, and gives a little speech. "I understand you people are hungry. But what are you hungry for? Food? Or freedom? It's 400 kilometers to Chicago. Those tanks can make that in 2 hours. Anyone feel like a drive?" A long column of the Neo hovertanks blasts its way out of the warehouse. They proceed through a field until they get to a thruway, and turn onto it. Napier is in the lead tank, Cates is right behind him, and friendly e-frames fly around them. Some Neo troops have set up an emplacement on an overpass, and begin to fire. The resistance fighters simply target the road beneath the Neos, sending it all crumbling down. The debris is then cleared away with a blast, and Napier declares the road to Chicago open. Hanley lands on Napier's tank, and shoots the name Phaeton from an overhead road sign reading Phaeton City 400 km. The long columns of tanks and e-frames are then observed. Phaeton, now in his E-frame rather than just his auto-mutation suit, is looking at a map of North America when Livia reports that the resistance has seized a large force of tanks and is headed for Phaeton City. Phaeton simply tells her, "You wanted command of Earth? I give it to you. Stop them." As she leaves he begins laughing maniacally. She walks up to a video screen and orders the Neo officer to intercept the rebels and destroy them. Back at the ExoFleet, still in orbit of the moon, Weston approaches Professor Algernon. He says he doesn't have much time since he is going to lead a scientific team to Earth and there is no way to anticipate their needs. Weston tells him that she doesn't have much time either, but wanted to give him Alec DeLeon's pilot interface recorder since she was going into combat soon. She points out that he built it, and that it was no ordinary black box, since it shared Alec's mind and thoughts. Algernon says, "DeLeon's e-frame was a qualitative advance in ExoTechnology. I know because I made it myself. It does pose an interesting challenge, though." She asks him to keep it safe, but as she leaves Algernon muses, "I wonder..." She arrives to rejoin Able Squad just as they are framing up. Marsh points out she was late, Weston apologizes and says it won't happen again. Marsh tells her, "You're right, it won't," but then points out that they saved a spot in the formation for her. Weston tries her best to smile. Marsh looks at the pictures in his cockpit of Alice Noretti, and now Alec DeLeon as well, the two pilots he has lost under his command. He reports to the launch commander that they are ready, and then thinks to himself that it is the waiting that is most difficult. At Battle Creek, in Michigan, a force of Neo tanks awaits the oncoming tanks that were seized by the resistance. Napier is communicating with J.J., telling him to alert Winfield that they are proceeding to Phaeton City and have not yet met with any real opposition. As the long column of resistance tanks goes onto an overpass, the Neo tanks commander alerts his platoon to let the first wave pass, since, "We want to crush the whole snake, not just bite off its head." When two columns of tanks begin to merge, the Neo force comes out of the bushes attacking. Napier realizes it is an ambush, and orders the resistance to watch their flanks and get out of the interchange. The tanks on either side of Napier are destroyed. The overpass supports begin to buckle. Hanley takes to the sky and orders the e-frames to provide air cover. The Neos shoot a portion of the overpass and a row of tanks fall to the ground and explode. Resistance e-frames destroy two Neo tanks, other Neo tanks continue to score hits on both tanks and e-frames, and then the resistance tanks begin to make their presence felt. Winfield looks out the window (or viewscreen) at the ExoFleet and ponders, "All of human history has led up to this moment." He tells Simbacca that when he was a boy he wanted to be a veterinarian, and that he loved horses. He then announces to the fleet to begin the attack. Back at Battle Creek, the battle continues to rage. At least some resistance tanks have made it off the overpass, and tanks from both sides score hits on each other. Napier orders his troops to fall back so that they can regroup. Meanwhile J.J. is trying to contact Napier from resistance headquarters, wanting an update. He thinks the Neos are jamming, but then realizes that they are transmitting. It is Galba, who asks him to listen and believe what he is saying. Grimley is skeptical, and Galba admits he can give no reason why he should trust him other than their shared doom if he doesn't. He agrees to listen, but doesn't look as if he is about to take Galba seriously. Galba tells him to have the ExoFleet call off its attack, because Phaeton will destroy the entire Earth with his doomsday device if they do. Just then the transmission is cut off. Galba turns to see Praetorius and two Neo soldiers with guns pointed at him. Praetorius tells Galba that he should have been destroyed with the rest of his brood. Meanwhile J.J. is trying to reestablish contact with Galba. Failing that he tries Napier. Finally he tries to contact the ExoFleet, saying he has an urgent message for Winfield. As he yells at them to call off the attack, we are shown that jumptroops and e-frames from the ExoFleet have already been launched. Long Synopsis 2 synopsis below provided by Adam Keith (lk0001@jove.acs.unt.edu) On the outskirts of Phaeton City, Neosapien E-frames swarm over the exterior of Phaeton's bunker, all under the watchful eyes of Livia and the Governor-General himself. One of the E-frames carves the phrase LASCIATE OGNI SPERANZA VOI CH'ENTRATE, Dante's inscription over the gates of hell (Abandon all hope, ye who enter here), in massive letters into the rock above the bunker's entrance. As he supervises the work, Phaeton declares that he will never leave his bunker again. Livia declares that to be unnecessary, as she expects the defeat of the Exofleet to come soon, but the distant ringing of church bells distracts Phaeton from responding. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls," Phaeton states. "It tolls for you, Winfield, and you, J.T. Marsh. I will destroy you all! Not even a handful of dust will remain for the winds to blow away!" In a conference room on the Resolute II, having taken up position with the rest of the Exofleet in a high lunar orbit, Admiral Winfield briefs his captains and other officers on the coming assault on Earth. The Admiral relates the story of Franco's attack on Madrid in the Spanish Civil War, in which his four columns of troops were supported by a fifth column, his forces inside the city who would attack the republicans from within. Winfield declares that the resistance forces on Earth will act as the Exofleet's fifth column, and informs his officers that the coded signal to launch the attack has already been sent. In a farmhouse outside of Phaeton City, Sean Napier reads over the communication from the fleet and hands it to Tanaka, asking him to transmit the document to all resistance commanders worldwide. Eve Hanley asks if the message is an order to attack, and Napier asks to speak with her in private. The two step outside, where Napier informs Hanley that her E-frame group is to lead the attack on Detroit. He also states that he's going with her, which surprises Hanley, who expected Napier to stay at the base and coordinate the attack. Napier refuses to stay out of the fight "twiddling his thumbs," and then goes back inside the building. Jinx Madison and Voodoo step outside the farmhouse and approach Hanley, and Madison states, "So, it's finally come." At a Neosapien factory near Detroit, human workers slave over the construction of dozens of Neotanks as several Neosapien guards supervise their work. One of the workers looks longingly at the cafeteria, whose door is closed and tightly locked. The man suddenly becomes dizzy and wobbles on his feet, then collapses to the floor. Two of his fellow workers rush to help him, but the Neosapien supervisor pushes past the guards and sees him laying on the ground. Enraged, the supervisor barks, "Replace that labor unit!" and the man is promptly dragged off. Another worker glares at his captors but then returns to his work. In an abandoned building of that same Detroit factory, Napier and Hanley wait in their E-frames for the designated time for the attack to arrive. All of the resistance units report in as being in place for the attack; Napier looks at his watch and says, "It won't be much longer." On the Resolute II, Admiral Winfield tells Jonas Simbacca that the time for the resistance to attack is near. He also explains that the fleet will wait for two hours after the resistance attacks in order to give the Neosapiens time to commit themselves against the resistance ground forces. "It can't come too soon," Simbacca says, grinning evilly. "The pirate clans have many scores to settle with the Neosapiens." Meanwhile, on the jumpship Arnhem, J.T. Marsh walks the corridors impatiently as the time until the attack drags by. Maggie finds him and asks him for permission to leave the ship, which he is hesitant to give, but she says, "It's a personal matter, but...yes, it is important to me." J.T. agrees, telling her to return in one hour, and then goes to the mess hall, where he finds Bronski indulging in a pre-flight meal. Wolf says that he always gets nervous before a fight, and that when he gets nervous, he eats. He asks J.T. about the resistance fighters and wonders if there will be heavy casualties, but J.T. has no answers. When J.T. asks him if he's concerned about someone in particular, Wolf only says, "Somebody." Eve Hanley informs her E-frames and troops that one minute remains until they attack. Inside the factory, the workers have forgotten the day's earlier disruption and continue working until the walls of the upper balcony suddenly explode into the factory. The guards are flung two stories to the ground and the human workers run in fear for their lives. Alarms sound throughout the complex as Hanley and Napier shoot down a door and charge into the factory, and Hanley orders the ground troops to attack as well. Dozens of resistance fighters spring into action all around the factory, picking off the guards that rush out of other buildings and forcing the Neosapiens to thin out their defenses. Two resistance fighters lure an unsuspecting Neosapien E-frame into an alley between two buildings where Peter Tanaka promptly destroys it. Elsewhere, several Neotanks come pouring out of the buildings and open fire on the hopelessly outgunned ground troops, killing several and forcing the others to fall back. Hanley manages to blow the turret off one of the tanks with a well-placed missile, but two of the other resistance fighters in E-frames call for help as the tanks surround them. As a line of tanks approach her and Napier's position, Hanley responds, "We're a bit busy ourselves!" In a Neolord brooding complex, Praetorius stalks past the endless rows of birthing tubes searching for Galba. When he finds him, Praetorius informs Galba of the simultaneous uprisings across the planet and of the presence of the Exofleet behind the Terran moon. When Galba asks if the Terrans could successfully invade, Praetorius declares, "They will win nothing." He states that Phaeton has constructed a doomsday device with which he plans to destroy the Earth and everyone on it. Resistance fighters under Nick Tyree in Sydney, Australia engage the Neosapien forces near the ruins of the Opera House, and the city is filled with E-frames and explosions. Meanwhile, the skies of Paris are dotted with Neosapien Y-wings as a fierce battle rages around a shattered and broken Eiffel Tower. At the tank factory in Detroit, Napier and Hanley land on the roof of a building and shoot it out from under themselves, landing inside in the middle of several guards and E-frames. As more and more of the Neosapien troops go down, the base commander radios General Livia in Phaeton City and begs for reinforcements. Livia says that a hundred installations have come under attack across the planet and that no troops can be spared. The commander protests that his position is being overrun and cannot be held, but Livia informs him, "You will hold!" As Livia ends the communication and leaves, Phaeton looks on with resignation and says, "It has begun at last." Hanley and the ground troops press their attack as the Neosapien soldiers begin to falter, allowing the Terrans to push them back even farther. The Neosapien commander blasts Napier to the ground and flies up to a second-level balcony overlooking the battle. Napier regains control of his frame and blasts up to the balcony, checking the Neosapien's E-frame through the wall into the adjoining hallway. Napier wrestles with the other E-frame briefly but then fires several blasts into him at point- blank range, sending the Neosapien through the wall for the last time. A fallen guard in the hallway fires a few shots at Napier with a hand blaster but is quickly disposed of just as another E-frame jumps him from behind. Napier and the Neosapien crash through more walls and break a gaping hole in the second-story floor which the Neosapien shoves Napier's E-frame through. As Napier crashes to the ground, his assailant follows him down and raises a missile at his crippled E-frame, but a shouting Terran worker charging at him from the side distracts him. The worker, named Cates, shoves his power drill into the Neosapien's fusion pack, causing him to twitch wildly for a few moments and then fall to the ground with a thud. Cates turns and yells at the other workers, "Come on! It's time we got even!" But although some shout agreement, no one moves. He continues, "Look, you can sit here and be scared or help send those Neos back where they belong! What'll it be?" With that, the rest of the workers charge into the warehouse, although one stays behind and hides behind a barrel, shaking with fear. The workers rush past the resistance fighters, leaping on to the airborne Neosapiens, grabbing hold of the E-frames and pulling them to the ground. One worker is flung against a wall by a Neosapien frame and another officer shouts out, "The Terran workers are escaping! Kill them all!" The officer's orders are promptly countermanded by a blast from Jinx Madison's E-frame. Madison walks up to the officer's downed frame and raises his blaster to finish the Neosapien off, but Hanley orders him to stop and not "sink to their level." With the Neosapien defenses suppressed and the factory secured, Napier and Hanley meet with Cates. Napier tells Cates that they were sent to destroy the Neotanks before they could be shipped and asks how many are currently at the factory; Cates leads them into another huge warehouse full of the hovertanks and says, "If you want to count, you can start with these." Napier asks if he knows of any easy way to take out a Neotank short of blowing it up, but Cates doesn't because of the heavy shielding and well-designed systems. When asked, Cates tells Napier that the tanks do not require a cyberlink to operate and have an override that allows manual control. The door to the cafeteria squeaks from disuse as Cates and Napier enter. The rest of the workers eat in silence while Cates tells Sean about the starvation rations the Neosapiens had been feeding them. Napier looks at the workers and proceeds to climb up on to the table. "I understand you people are hungry," he says. "But what are you hungry for? Food...or freedom?" He tells the workers that the tanks they have can make the drive to Chicago (emphatically not Phaeton City) in two hours, asking, "Anyone feel like a drive?" The hovertanks stream out of the warehouse, Napier at point and Cates directly behind him. Hundreds of the tanks cross a grass field to a highway, and they are soon spotted by a group of Neosapiens perched on a nearby overpass. The tank and soldiers on the overpass open fire but are unable to hit the rapidly approaching targets, while Napier has no problem targeting and destroying the lone tank, whose explosion brings the overpass down on to the highway in a smoldering heap of concrete. A few blasts from the tanks clear the highway of debris, and Napier announces, "The road's open!" Hanley lands on Napier's tank and sees a sign that reads: "Phaeton City, 400 km." She raises her blaster arm and blows a smoking hole in the sign where Phaeton's name once was, smiling with grim satisfaction as the resistance's fifth column advances on Chicago. Livia enters one of the chambers in Phaeton's bunker and finds Phaeton staring at a map of North America. She informs Phaeton of the captured Neotanks heading for Phaeton City, but Phaeton seems to ignore this for a moment, replying quietly, "You wanted command of Earth. I give it to you. Stop them." Livia turns and leaves the room but is followed by the sound of Phaeton's insane laughter. In another room, Livia contacts an officer in Michigan and gives him new orders: "You will intercept the Terran rebels...and destroy them all." In a science lab on the Resolute, Maggie Weston finds Professor Algernon busy putting together equipment for a scientific scouting mission to Earth. She asks the professor to hold on to Alec DeLeon's flight recorder from his E-frame, saying that she knows it was no ordinary black box. Algernon agrees, saying that Alec's E-frame was "a qualitative advance in exotechnology," having shared his thoughts and his mind. Maggie asks him again to keep it safe while she's gone, adding, "It's all that's left of Alec." As she walks toward the door, the professor says thoughtfully, "I wonder..." Maggie turns and looks at him questioningly, but then leaves. Weston flies her E-frame back to the Arnhem, where she finds the squad framed up and ready for launch. J.T. says, "You're late, trooper," with a scowl on his face. Maggie apologizes and promises that it won't happen again, to which J.T. responds, "You're right...it won't." He then smiles and says, "Get in formation. We saved a place for you." Marsh then informs launch command that his squad is ready and glances down at his picture of Alice Noretti, which has now been joined by a picture of the late Alec DeLeon. J.T. sighs and says, "The waiting's the hardest part." Napier's massive column of captured Neotanks passes near the city of Battle Creek, Michigan, where a large group of Neosapien-controlled Neotanks hide off the side of the highway, waiting for the resistance column to arrive. In his tank at the point, Napier radios J.J. Grimley at resistance base and tells him to inform Admiral Winfield of the impending resistance attack on Phaeton City, adding that only token Neosapien resistance has been encountered so far. In the foliage surrounding the highway, the Neosapien commander orders his tanks to not attack until the head of the column has passed. As the resistance tanks drive by on an overpass, their Neosapien counterparts open fire and emerge from their cover. Napier shouts out, "It's an ambush! Watch your flank!" just as two tanks directly behind him are shot and destroyed. Cracks appear in the supporting pillars underneath the overpass and the entire structure becomes unstable. Hanley blasts off Napier's tank and orders the other E- frames to give the tanks air cover. A blast from a Neotank knocks out a section of the overpass, sending three resistance tanks unable to stop in time hurtling to their doom below. Hanley and another E-frame pilot swoop down and destroy two of the tanks, and the other pilot proceeds to take out four more tanks in swift succession. The pilot lands briefly to survey the scene but is quickly blown up by an approaching Neotank. Hanley continues blasting the Neosapien tanks, destroying several and blasting the cannon off of another, leaving it defenseless. Meanwhile, in the confusion of battle, Cates accidentally rams his tank into a Neosapien's, crushing his cannon but only shaking his enemy. Cates attempts to reverse out of the Neosapien's range, but the enemy tank spins its turret toward Cates and fires off a single blast before moving on. Cates survives the blast, but his systems short out and electrical current arcs throughout the tank's turret, causing him to cry out in pain as the battle rages on. On the bridge of the Resolute II, Admiral Winfield stands beside Captain Simbacca as the two look out a large window at the massed Exofleet pulling away from its lunar orbit. "All of human history has led up to this moment," the Admiral observes. Winfield makes restless small talk with Simbacca, then turns to a communication panel as H-hour arrives. The Admiral transmits to the fleet, "Launch the attack!" As the Exofleet bears down on Earth, the hovertank battle at Battle Creek continues with neither side making significant progress. Napier orders all units to fall back in order to regroup for another attack. At the resistance command outside of Phaeton City, J.J. Grimley's attempts to contact Napier fail because of what he believes to be Neosapien jamming. But the static soon resolves itself into the face of the Neomega Galba, who is trying to send a message, not jam the resistance's communications. Galba tells Grimley to listen and believe what he says, promising that if he doesn't, they will all be doomed. Grimley listens skeptically as Galba explains what he knows about the existence of Phaeton's doomsday device, which is to be used should the Exofleet invade Earth. Before Grimley can demand any further explanation, the transmission abruptly dissolves into static again. Galba turns and finds Praetorius and two armed guards standing behind him. In a voice full of contempt, Praetorius stares down at Galba and says, "Phaeton should have destroyed you with the rest of your brood." Grimley tries to contact Galba again but fails and so radios Napier, who also does not respond. Frantically, Grimley sends a signal to the Exofleet, shouting, "Cancel the attack! I repeat, call off the attack!" But the skies above the planet Earth are already filled with the ships of the Exofleet, and thousands of jumptroops and E-frames are already on their way to the surface. Category:Synopses